Harvard Business School did a neat study recently. The topic was top performing employees moving from one company to another. The study found that very often these people had a very difficult time making the transition and many times they weren't successful in the new company. The exception? Women.

Why?

The theory is that men are really good at navigating the "old boys" network in an organization. Because women don't have access to this network they compensate by creating stronger relationships externally -- with their customers.

Which new employee would you rather have, one that has strong relationships with her customers or one that has strong relationships with his ex-colleagues?